Thread: Best Survival Vehicle

Its called a brick in. drain the oil and water start the engine and put a brick on the gas peddal. last car standing wins. make you bets and hope to win. they used to do it a the clark county fair. but I dont think they do it anymore.

Originally Posted by PeakResources

My diesel Mitsubishi can start without the glow plugs. I didn't have the plugs set up for the first month or two after I converted it. Crank it, and if it is warm enough, it will start. If it is cold out, it takes longer. I've never tried to start it below freezing without the glow plugs, but it works in most circumstances.

I've never tried to use either instead of the plugs because simply cranking it has always been sufficient until I had my plugs set up.

did you do a conversion? or have it done? i'm looking at a montero for a daily driver, but would love to have a diesel under the hood.

any info would be appreciated.

oh, and my vote for bug out vehicle is bike, or honda ruckus scooter. anything else is probably sheer folly. the roads are going to be jam packed. ever been on the roads during peak hour? now imagine EVERYONE trying to drive on those same roads.

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Jazz,

I converted a 4-cylinder 5-speed Montero from the 2.6l gas engine to the 2.5l "4d56t" engine. They have the same bellhousing and motor mount configurations. There is a bunch of difficulty in converting the power steering (get later model lines and pump and bend as necessary) because it's on the opposite side, as is the alternator. Glow plugs were easily set up (get a Ford starter relay), and for the most part other stuff worked.

You can get the 4d56t from any reputable Japanese engine importer. They typically will have 100k+ kilometers on them. Mine ran great. Unfortunately, someone bunged up the oil drain plug, so I had to fix that (welded in a nut as a new drain plug). I also made sure to change the timing belt before installing it.

It's not a cheap swap, but gets 26+ mpg and has great power.

I sold that Montero, and am now driving a p-pumped 12-valve Cummins Dodge truck with a 5-speed. Not as agile in the forest, but can definitely haul a lot of stuff including the family. Since my Cummins has no electronics, it should even withstand EMP if such a thing were to ever happen. I'm not especially worried about an EMP, but the p-pump cummins 5-speed is about as reliable as you can get. I also get 18 mpg with it, and believe I could get 20mpg if I kept it to 55 or 60 mph on the freeway.

If you have any other questions regarding the Montero conversion, feel free to post 'em. Would be good to get responses in the thread so others can benefit from any info as well.

@Peak: thanks for the reply!! and the tech info..

dang, too bad you sold that montero, i would have snapped that up. exactly what im looking for right now. that or a 300GD that isnt silly money. (sigh) if the current owner ever wanted to sell it.. have them get hold of me..

i got spoiled by my old w124 300D mercedes, just dumping in clean waste oil into a mixed tank of diesel & wvo felt pretty good. that thing was unstoppable..

was there a year range for the monteros that was an easy swap?

24' motorhome.

I'm thinking a dual sport M/C would be the best survival rig.

My Montero was a 1987 because I wanted the light weight and a 5-speed. I don't recall if the 4d56t will swap into the 6-cylinder model trucks, but I seem to remember that it might. That would mean that it could swap into the early Montero RS / SR trucks, including the ones with the air locker rears. Keep in mind that the mid-1990 Monteros changed v6 engines and the bellhousings aren't compatible. Regardless, my swap was from a 4-cylinder 5-speed truck, and it was very easy. If you go that direction, it should be relatively easy. No guarantees otherwise, but I believe the early v6 trucks have the same bellhousing.

Yeah, I sold it for pretty cheap because my wife was sick of it. I bought a FJ80 landcruiser with lockers to replace it. I've since sold the LC and now have that Dodge Diesel 4x4.

Trlsmn, I think you're right for a single individual who wants to travel light. I have a family as well as "things" I would like to take with me. With the right in-bed aux fuel tank, I can get a range of up to 1000 miles loaded with my wife, kids, and stuff. That's important to me. It may not get me up into the remote areas as well, but it can get my family fairly far back and bring some essentials with us.

pack of dachshunds and a red wagon, when they get tired we all get into this

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